Xcel wants to test battery storage for solar power in Denver area

Xcel Energy Inc. is asking state regulators to approve a test of adding massive batteries to its system to store renewable energy and send the power to customers when they need it.

Xcel is proposing to add the batteries to its grid system for commercial customers at the planned Panasonic Enterprise Solutions Co. development near Denver International Airport. The second test would support residential customers in the Stapleton neighborhood in Denver that has a lot of solar power panels on the homes.

The tests could be launched as soon as 2016 or 2017, according to Xcel.

“Our goal is to use these demonstration projects as a foundation for how to efficiently manage renewable energy on our Colorado system, and to continue to provide our customers with insight into the energy choices they want and value,” said David Eves, president of Public Service Co. of Colorado, Xcel’s subsidiary in the state.

Most people think of battery storage systems to provide back up power for solar power installations, but they can do more, Eves said.

Batteries can regulate voltage on distribution lines; they can increase the ability of the electric grid to use renewable generation; and they can store power produced when its cheap and release it when demand — and the cost of production — is high, he said.

Xcel (NYSE: XEL) filed its request to run the two tests Thursday with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, which must sign off on the plan. The tests would be conducted via the utility’ Innovative Clean Technology program. The PUC has approved the program, but most also approve individual projects.

Test projects done under the program give Xcel the chance to see if new technologies can work in a commercial setting before being implemented on a wider scale, Eves said.

The plan calls for Xcel to spend $10.7 million on the tests, with an additional $3.6 million coming from partners on the commercial test at the Panasonic development.

Xcel said it is partnering with Panasonic, DIA, Denver developer L.C. Fulenwider Inc., and the city of Denver on a “battery microgrid with solar integration project,” located on a commercial feeder power line near the airport.

Fulenwider is developing a transit oriented development at the Pena Boulevard rail station near DIA that will include the main office of Panasonic Enterprise Solutions, which in December said it would set up its main offices in Denver.

Panasonic Enterprise Solutions sells digital video display technology and solar power systems and helps design, finance, engineer and manage projects for large corporate and public sector clients. And officials said in December that when they selected Denver for the main office, they wanted to make the company’s home base a showcase for its technology.

“We want to do something special. If we do this right, people will be flying in to Denver” to see it, Jim Doyle, president of Panasonic Enterprise Solutions, said then.

Thursday, Doyle said that the the company is excited about the demonstration project "involving our latest solar and energy storage solutions."

“This demonstration project will prove out a model that will be foundational to future smart and sustainable cities," Doyle said in the announcement.

Xcel said that highlights of the Panasonic Solar-Battery Microgrid project near DIA are:

The ability to test and gain experience on all aspects of battery operation from a large-scale, grid perspective, and to test communications between the battery management systems and a utilities’ distribution management systems, to see what works best for the consumer;

Installation of a large, company-owned, 1.3-megawatt solar power system, a battery storage system with capacity to hold up to 2-megawatt hours of power, plus related control systems, meters and communications equipment;

Location near the Transportation Oriented Development (TOD), centered around the Regional Transportation District’s new Pena Station on the commuter rail line to the airport;

An energy storage system that can be operated as a microgrid to provide Panasonic with back-up power in emergencies;

Operation as a demonstration in 2016-2018.

Highlights of the residential project at Stapleton are:

Potentially partnering with a rooftop solar power developer, via a request for proposals, to test the use of batteries in a residential neighborhood.

Location on Xcel’s “feeder” power line that provides power to the North Central Park and Eastbridge neighborhoods in Stapleton. This feeder line supports more than 330 rooftop solar installations which can supply up to 18.5 percent of the power line’s capacity, one of the highest levels of solar penetration on Xcel’s grid in the state.

Up to six battery storage systems of multiple sizes to be deployed at strategic locations along the distribution feeder line;

Support from both the Electric Power Research Institute, an industry group, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, on scoping and analysis; and